Avadi () is a suburb of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

within

Chennai Metropolitan Area The Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area, or simply the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), is the third-most populous metropolitan area in India, the 22nd-most in Asia, and the 40th-most in the world. The CMA consists of the core city of Chennai, wh ...

limit, located in the Thiruvallur district of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, India. It is a

municipal corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally ...

west of

, about from

Chennai Central Railway Station Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway ...

. It is surrounded by major defence establishments and is home to various universities and engineering colleges. The city is served by Avadi Railway Station of the

Chennai Suburban Railway The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is the second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the third ...

. As of 2011, Avadi had a population of 345,996, which is 10th most populous place in Tamil Nadu. It is home to the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Ordnance Factory Board (ODF) which houses Engine Factory and Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE). The lake in Avadi was known as Paaleripattu, which is now found only in very old land documents.

Etymology

The exact origin of the name 'Avadi' is not known. One version has it that it is the combination of "Aa" (meaning cow) and "Adi or gudi (kudi)" (meaning place in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

), indicating that the place had many cows. AVADI stands for Armed Vehicles Ammunition Depot of INDIA One of the more popular theories about the origin of the name is that it is an acronym for "Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India". However, this is most likely a

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

invented more recently. The entity "Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India" does not appear in any British records. Several British documents from the 19th century refer to the place as "Avady", which doesn't match the widely circulated acronym theory. The name Avadi (Avady) was already in use by 1856, when the first public railway was opened in the Madras Presidency. This predates the transfer of the Madras Presidency's arsenal from

Fort St. George, India Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further s ...

in the city of Madras, to Avadi, which was done sometime after 1870, which contradicts the popular acronym theory.

History

The neighbourhood is part of the "auto belt" that developed when the automobile industry developed in Madras, primarily in the city's industrial north and west regions, in the early post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

years. The famous session of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

was held at Avadi on 10 January 1955. This historical meet emphasised the importance of socialism and its impact on social development.

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

with

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...

and other Congress leaders at the AICC session declared that a socialistic pattern of society was the goal of the Congress.

Geography

Avadi is located at . It covers an area of and has an average elevation of .

Lake

Avadi has a lake called Paruthipattu Lake. Spread over 200 acres and in length, the lake is located away from the city, behind the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) and

Thirumullaivoyal Thirumullaivoyal is a western neighbourhood of Chennai, the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in the Chennai Metropolitan Area in Tiruvallur district, from Ambattur. The neighbourhood is served by Thirumullaivoyal rai ...

. It was once a source of water for farmland irrigation. The body of water attracts many birds throughout the year. However, in the recent decades it has lost most of its area to indiscriminate building and encroachment. The Paruthippattu Lake area was renovated with a budget of 32 crores and converted into an eco-park that officially opened on 19 June 2019. The renovation added recreational facilities, a 3-km-long walking track, a central plaza and various greenery, while addressing the issues of encroachment and sewage pollution that had affected the once-neglected lake.

Waste management

The neighborhood generates about 150 metric tonnes of garbage daily. Together with Thiruninravur and

Poonamallee Poonamallee is suburb of Chennai, India under the Chennai Metropolitan Area. It was historically called ''Pushpagirimangalam'', later renamed in Tamil as ''Poovirundhavalli'' (), and now colloquially called as ''Poondhamalli''. It is a town in ...

, Avadi generates about 210 metric tonnes of solid waste from around 120,000 households, which is dumped on a 17.78-acre site in Sekkadu, owned by the Avadi Municipal Corporation. In 2017, the municipal corporation planned to construct 33 decentralized compost processing plants at a cost of 109.6 million, each with a capacity to convert 4 tonnes of

biodegradable waste Biodegradable waste includes any organic matter in waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane or simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things by composting, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion ...

into manure. Of these, 17 plants were operational as of February 2018.

IT Parks and Companies

IT Park

A new Tidel Park, with a built-up area of 5,57,000 square feet, will be built on a 10-acre land at a cost of 2,300 million at Avadi–Pattabiram on MTH Road. This is expected to provide jobs for 30,000 people. The Construction work started in August 2020. Dell Technology and Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) have shown interest to move to Avadi. iDEX a Central Government IT Company for Defence export is expected to invest 1000 crores in Tidel Park Avadi - Pattabiram. In addition to military establishments, Avadi also houses a number of IT/ITES and other service sector-based firms.

Defence Industrial Corridor

The major defence establishments with divisions in Avadi are the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct ...

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

, Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), EFA-Engine Factory, Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF),

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

, Central Vehicle Depot (CVD), The Ordnance Depot (OD), Unfit Vehicles Park (UVP) and the Ordnance Clothing Factory (OCF). The Indian Air Force has a Mechanical Transport Training Institute Technical (MTTI) here for training its personnel on driving and repairing vehicles, and also a base repair depot for repair and maintenance of its various equipment. CVRDE undertakes major research on battle tanks and other combat vehicles. MBT Arjuns, armoured ambulances, Combat Improved Ajeyas and Nag anti-tank missiles are some of the recent products from CVRDE. The Heavy Vehicles Factory produces an indigenous version of the

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks h ...

tank known a
Ajeya
HVF also produces the main battle tank Arjun. The production of

T-90 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and comp ...

S Bhishma tanks started in 2006–2007. The Tamil Nadu Special Police (TSP) also has a division in Avadi, the TN 2nd and 5th Battalion. There was a

airfield at Red Hills,

Sholavaram Cholavaram, also spelled Sholavaram, is a suburb north of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is popular as Sholavaram and is also known for the Cholavaram lake. Adjoining the lake, there was an defunct Air Force Airfield which was used as a moto ...

, approachable from the junction close to the CRPF Camp, Avadi, immediately after the Military Hospital.

Manufacturing Industrial Hub

Avadi is around 7 km from Ambattur Industrial Estate and 22 km from Sriperambudur - Irungattukottai Sipcot Industrial Park.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Avadi had a population of 345,996 with a sex-ratio of 970 females for every 1,000 males, well above the national average of 929. A total of 36,091 were under the age of six, constituting 18,419 males and 17,672 females.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

accounted for 16.16% and 0.63% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 81.76%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 87,733 households. There were a total of 127,152 workers, comprising 787 cultivators, 1,095 main agricultural labourers, 1,444 in household industries, 111,013 other workers, 12,813 marginal workers, 221 marginal cultivators, 310 marginal agricultural labourers, 449 marginal workers in household industries and 11,833 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Avadi had 84.23%

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 4.56%

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 10.69%

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

, 0.07%

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...

, 0.03%

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, 0.08%

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

, 0.3% following other religions and 0.03% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference. From 229,403 in 2001, the population of Avadi grew to 344,701 in 2011, registering a decadal population growth of 50%.

Places of worship

There are many

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

s in and around Avadi. Karumari Amman temple, Chinnamman temple, Nagavalli Amman and Perumal temple are famous temples in Avadi. Many old generation temples are also present in and around Avadi.

, a locality near Avadi, is famous for Masilamaniswara Temple, Thirumullaivoyal, an ancient temple of Lord Shiva, as well as Pachaiamman Temple. Vaikundhanaadhar Temple is located near Kovilpathagai; Angaalamman Temple is located on the Redhills road. Sri Venkateswara Perumal Temple in Kamaraj Nagar is a

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as th ...

shrine in Avadi. A handful of

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s serve a considerable Islamic population in Avadi. There are some churches over 50 years old, including Marthoma Church in Gandhi Nagar, CSI, RC and Orthodox Churches in HVF road. Also, numerous churches have been built in recent years; St Antony's Shrine is a Catholic church located at Avadi Check-post. There is a

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings gen ...

, Vasupujiya Jain Temple, and a

Gurudwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

in the HVF estate for the Sikhs to worship in Avadi. Avadi boasts of cultural and religious diversity and has a proud heritage of religious tolerance.

Transport

Railways

Avadi railway station is one of the important suburban terminal stations of the

Chennai Suburban Railway Network The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is the second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the th ...

. It lies on the Chennai Jolarpettai Mainline. Few express trains like Thiruvananthapuram Chennai Mail, Alappuzha Chennai Express, and Tirupati Chennai Garudadri stops at Avadi. The proximity of the MTC bus terminus to the railway station has led many commuters to choose Avadi as a transit point. Avadi railway station has the seventh highest footfall in Southern Railways with numbers exceeding 75,000 per day.

Suburban services

Avadi is connected very well with rest of the city by EMU trains. There are frequent suburban trains from Avadi to

Chennai Central Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway ...

Chennai Beach Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Suburb ...

, Arakonam,

Thiruvallur Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality and a fast developing city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about from downtown Chennai (Madras) and just 5 km from megacity border, in the western p ...

Tiruthani Tiruttani is a town in Tiruvallur district, suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit in state of Tamil Nadu, India. This town is famous for Tiruttani Murugan Temple which is one of the Arupadaiveedu and is dedicated to (Kartike ...

and

Velachery Velachery (''pronounced as'' veh·luh·cheh·ree) is a commercial and residential area in south Chennai, and is the largest commercial centre in south Chennai. It is surrounded by Guindy in the north, IIT Madras in the north-east, Taramani ...

. By rail, Avadi is 45 minutes from Chennai Central, 24 minutes from

Perambur Perambur is a neighbourhood located in the northern region of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Etymology In Tamil, ''pirambu (பிரம்பு)'' means bamboo and ''ur (ஊர்)'' means city or place. Before British rule, this place was w ...

and 15 minutes from Villivakkam. Some trains originate from here as Avadi has an EMU Shed, which handles the majority of the suburban train operations on the Northern and Western line. The Western line has 229 services a day and the North line has 83, which accounts 312 trains.

Roadways

Chennai–Tiruttani highway extension

The Tamil Nadu Highways department issued a GO on 4 October 2013 to extending the entire Chennai – Tiruttani highway to 6 lanes at a cost of ₹1.68 billion. The first phase will involve extending the road to 4 lanes – 100 ft with center median and encroachments have already started to be removed. The road junction at Avadi Checkpost connects Avadi Poonamallee road with the CTH road. The Chennai Outer ring road (ORR) passes through western part of Avadi.

Avadi Bus Terminus

Avadi bus terminus is located very near to the Avadi railway station on the Chennai - Thiruvallur High Road (CTH road). The depot is situated beside the bus terminal. Avadi is well connected to various locations of Chennai as well as rural areas surrounding North-western and Western Chennai. The main service provider though is the state-owned Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses, few private buses are also available.

Share Autos

Share Autos are one of the popular modes of transport there. Share Autos are mostly spotted near Avadi bus terminal and Checkpost junction. They usually ply between Poonamallee, Karayanchavadi, Pattabiram, Thiruninravur, Anna Nagar, Nungambakkam and Koyambedu.

Educational institutions

Avadi has been a place of importance when it comes to educational institutions. Plenty of CBSE and Tamil Nadu State board schools are there in its vicinity.

Schools

* Government Girls Higher Secondary school * Government Boys Higher Secondary school * Nabi Crescent Matriculation School, Avadi. * Holy Immanuel Matriculation Schoolhttps://www.justdial.com/Chennai/Holy-Immanuel-Matric-School-Avadi/044PXX44-XX44-160804074832-R1V4_BZDET * Holy Immanuel Matriculation School * Kendriya Vidyalaya: OCF, AFS, CRPF, and HVF. * Kendriya Vidyalaya CRPF, Avadi. * Air Force School, Avadi * Sri Venkateshwara Matriculation Higher Secondary School * Immaculate Heart of Mary Girls Higher Secondary School * Jaigopal Garodia Vivekananda Vidyalaya * Vijayanta Higher Secondary School * Vijayanta Senior Secondary School * Vijayantha Model Higher Secondary School * St. Joseph's Matriculation School * DAV Matriculation Higher Secondary School * D. S. Selvam Matriculation School * Velammal Vidyalaya * VGN Chinmaya Vidhyalaya * Sudharsanam Vidyaashram * Maharishi Vidya Mandir * Aditya Vidyashram * Roman Catholic Mission Matriculation School * Great Harvest vidyalaya * St. Pauls Matriculation School * Nazareth Matriculation Higher Secondary School * Veltech Dr.RR & Dr.SR Matriculation Higher Secondary school * The Nazareth Academy * Ordnance Clothing Factor school * RMK Senior secondary school * Sri Ramakrishna matriculation school

Colleges

* Veltech Rangarajan and Dr.Sakunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology * Veltech Multitech * Veltech Hightech * Veltech School of Law and School of Communication * Veltech College of Engineering * Murugappa Polytechnic College * St. Peter's College of Engineering and Technology * Mahalashmi Women's College of Arts & Science * Veltech Rangarajan Sangunthala Arts College * Aalim Muhammed Salegh College of Engineering (Nizara Educational Campus) * Nazareth College of Arts and Science * Dharmamurthi Rao Bahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty Hindu College * S. A. Engineering College * S. A. College of arts and science

State assembly constituency

Avadi is a state assembly constituency in

, India, formed after constituency delimitation.^{/sup> The areas included are Poonamalle Taluk (partially), Pattabiram, Thirunindravur, Tiruverkadu and Avadi (M). It is included in the Thiruvallur parliamentary constituency.

Entertainment

Cinema theatres

Avadi has a handful of movie theaters in its locality:

*Meenakshi Cinemas
*Remy Cinemas
*Rakki Cinemas(Rakki RGB Laser 4k,Mini Rakki, Cini Rakki)

The managing director of Carnival Cinemas, at a press meet during the launch of EVP Carnival Cinemas, Chembarambakkam, confirmed that EVP Carnival cinemas was coming up with a 5 screen multiplex near Avadi soon. The exact location is not known yet.

References

External links

Avadi at Tiruvallur district website

{{Chennai Topics

Neighbourhoods in Chennai
Suburbs of Chennai
Geography of Chennai
Cities and towns in Tiruvallur district}